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Do your joints seem to hurt more when it’s cold and damp? If so, you’re not alone. It’s a common health issue, but fortunately, there are steps you can take to alleviate your pain, and there’s also help here at Memorial Regional Health when you need it.

We took this wintery opportunity to talk to Alfred Maina, MRH’s new Pain Specialist and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, about joint pain and what to do about it.

Q. Does joint pain get worse in cold and/or wet weather? If so, why?

A. Joint pain does get worse in cold, wet weather. Barometric pressure changes such as during storm systems tend to increase joint pain in people with arthritis and metal in their joints. In addition, cold weather decreases circulation to the joints due to the constricting of blood vessels as well as increased viscosity (thickening) of the synovial fluid that lubricates the joints. All of this adds up to worse stiffness and increased pain.

Q. What are the differences between chronic and acute joint pain?

A. Acute joint pain is mostly associated with an injury to the joint, overuse or inflammation. It gradually improves and heals in less than 3 months. Chronic pain, on the other hand, is ongoing. Chronic joint pain not set in motion by an injury is typically due to wear and tear. It’s also known as joint degeneration. Certain types of arthritis and autoimmune diseases can cause chronic joint pain as well.

Q. What can people do on their own to manage and alleviate joint pain, especially in cold weather?

A. The first thing I recommend to people with chronic pain is to find a way to incorporate movement into their daily lives. Movement does not necessarily entail running or lifting heavy weights but could be as simple as walking, hiking, biking, tai chi, yoga, Pilates, water aerobics, gardening, shoveling snow, etc. Any activity that gets you further away from a sedentary lifestyle gets you closer to a life with less pain. This advice may seem counterintuitive—after all, doesn’t bending the joints hurt them?—but actually, movement of the body mobilizes synovial fluid, which is the lubricating fluid in the joints. This in turn increases mobility and flexibility in those joints, hence less pain. That is why people with arthritis experience morning stiffness and pain that diminishes as the day progresses and they begin moving more.

Q. But isn’t it normal to have joint pain as you get older?

A. No. It’s normal for muscles to weaken and ligaments to get stiffer as we age. Synovial fluids also diminish. But lifestyle choices like not getting enough physical activity, smoking, eating inflammatory foods and carrying too much weight are even bigger factors for most people. And making just a few healthier choices here and there can make a big difference.

Q. How can people tell if it’s time to see a pain specialist about their joint pain?

A. If the joint pain is:

• constant or persistent,
• present for more than 3 months,
• affecting your ability to perform and enjoy activities of daily living or hobbies,
• causing you to have altered body mechanics and movement (such as a limp or limited motion in an arm),
and/or
• simply unexplained…

then it’s time to see a pain specialist for a thorough evaluation and treatment. Some forms of joint pain—caused by diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus and other autoimmune disorders—require precise testing and often prescription medication to control the inflammation that is creating the pain.

Q. What are some effective joint pain treatments available in the MRH Pain Management Program, and how long does the pain relief typically last?

A. The most conservative things we do include physical therapy with our experienced physical therapy team, mostly to teach people how to move safely, correctly and efficiently based on their specific pain syndrome. Physical therapy can also stretch tight muscles and connective tissue as well as strengthen the muscles that support the joints.

We also offer different kinds of joint interventions including regenerative treatments like platelet-enriched plasma injections, prolotherapy, steroid injections, hyaluronic acid (gel) injections, nerve blocks specific to certain joints and radiofrequency ablations of the nerves that supply some of the joints. In general, pain medication and opioids are not effective solutions for chronic joint pain.

The interventional modalities mentioned above can provide relief from chronic joint pain from approximately 3 months for steroid injections and regenerative treatments to as long as 2 years for very successful radiofrequency ablations.

Q. Any final words of wisdom?

A. One of the most valuable things you can do to manage joint pain is to remain active, incorporate active and intentional movement in your daily life, and avoid being sedentary. Movement strengthens tendons, muscles and connective tissues, which in turn protect your joints from injury and degeneration. Movement also keeps the joints well lubricated through increased blood flow replenishment of the synovial fluid.

If you have chronic pain, come see us at the MRH Pain Management Program. We’ll carefully assess your pain and, using all the tools at our disposal, recommend treatment options that could improve your quality of life. Call 970-826-2400 to make an appointment.